Chapter 248

The Third World had become a weekday.

As usual, I woke up early, prepared and ate breakfast, then took a shower. The plumbing system is managed by the Royal Family, so surprisingly, it works fine.

Anyway, after tidying myself up, I headed to school.

On the days when holidays end and weekdays begin, no matter the world, there are always a lot of people who look like they’re about to die.

When I entered the classroom, I saw students suffering from “I hate Mondays” syndrome.

I sat near the front. People naturally fill in the back seats. Due to the classroom structure where the further back you go, the higher you sit, there’s a tendency for higher-class people to aim for the upper seats.

Instinctively choosing higher ground must be safer since looking down from above feels more secure.

While thinking about that, I placed my textbook on the desk and waited quietly.

Gradually, more students filled the room.

Front row students are either those with wealthy parents like Victoria or talented commoners who got into this Royal Academy through special skills.

It’s not strictly class-based; students tend to group together based on factions.

It’s hard to simply define the faction hierarchy within the classroom. It intertwines with school factions and the ones their parents belong to.

Nearby, there’s an entirely different set of rules.

Yeah.

There are rules.

They exist under the name of etiquette.

It’s a technique for protecting one’s territory and cutting down newcomers.

I’ve been here for over half a year now, learned from high-ranking nobles, and have detailed knowledge about these things.

Using them appropriately is another matter…

But since I don’t really aim to climb the ranks, it’s fine.

If I wanted to become a leader, I would’ve done it much earlier.

I know all about creating fake religions, after all.

First, you create a fictional god that doesn’t exist.

Never make yourself the god. Separating the deity and the ruler is key to sustaining a fake religion for a long time.

This way, you won’t get grabbed by believers demanding miracles.

The complaints are shouldered by the fictional god while the ruler enjoys all the good parts. Success? Thanks to me. Failure? Blame your lack of faith.

Simple, right?

Next, establish ranks and incomes via pyramid schemes, and you’ve got the basic framework.

Then gradually expand the scale, arrange marriages among believers to turn the religion into a native faith.

Once the numbers grow, start making political connections—not directly interfering but attending events and giving speeches.

Sure, it costs money, but if you give cash without asking for anything in return, they’ll come easily enough.

A religion with influence can wield power in local communities.

Eventually, requests will come from the other side.

After helping them out a few times, you’ll naturally tie them to you.

That’s how you use religion to climb the ladder.

And I have real miracles—abilities to heal and empower people.

Perfect for mesmerizing others.

But if society labels it as evil, you’ll end up like the Second World, so I avoid this path.

To do such things, you’d need to lie.

And someone as dimwitted as me will surely get caught.

Yeah, if you fail, just run away. But since I can’t, I choose methods with no losses even if the gains are small.

Time is infinite, after all.

Though I wish it were finite, I don’t see myself dying at an average age anytime soon.

That’s how classes went.

Wait, was I even paying attention?

If multitasking had no limits, it’d be possible.

During class, the teacher seemed unusually tense, which was kinda funny.

Well, considering this class contains a complete set of royal families from this continent, it makes sense they’d be nervous.

And then lunchtime came.

I was alone.

Polaris took this chance to talk to Victoria.

But judging by Victoria’s reaction, it seems meeting won’t happen anytime soon.

Unlike first grade, second-grade classrooms are on the second floor.

So unlike last year, I descended the central staircase of the building and headed toward the cafeteria, located a bit away from the main building.

There, I ate lunch.

Sitting alone, I noticed foreign students entering.

Instead of serving themselves from the food area like others, they went straight to pre-set spots.

Only after their countrymen inspected the food did they start eating.

Standing nearby were clearly non-students—bodyguards they brought along.

I understood.

Actually, among the students here, almost everyone would understand.

Why?

Because there are students from nations that despise each other like mortal enemies.

Imagine countries like China and India having constant border disputes. Would you relax sitting next to someone you can’t trust?

Of course, doing anything harmful here would result in concentrated fire from most nations sending students to the Royal Academy.

Not everyone thinks logically though.

And no one can guarantee that the illogical person isn’t in a high position.

While eating, I thought it’d be nice if someone tried poisoning me or stabbing me.

That way, I could immediately heal them.

The only exception is Tiana Amphibia, but according to her memories, Malovia Kingdom doesn’t have any severely hostile nations.

If we turned princes or princesses into harvesting systems, their descendants would multiply.

“Um, can I sit with you?”

Suddenly, someone spoke to me.

Looking up, I saw someone unfamiliar.

Average height, neither too tall nor short. Thin limbs, bony, slouched posture. Her long black hair flowed like spilled ink.

Her clothes were rather shabby. The material wasn’t bad, but overall, they looked worn-out. Strangely, despite her bent back, she had prominently large breasts.

“Yes, please.”

She carefully sat across from me after I replied. Looking around, I realized there weren’t many available seats.

Well, technically, there were seats.

But those required specific factions or high enough status—not suitable for the girl in front of me.

It’s a tradition to emphasize class differences during meals.

Let the great ones eat while the lowly wait.

Something like that.

While slowly eating, I casually observed the girl in front of me.

Probably a first-year student.

Not from a commoner family. The fabric quality is decent, but the overall outfit looks old, patched to follow outdated trends. Maybe a provincial noble?

Probably wearing hand-me-downs.

She has some jewelry, but a few pieces seem male-oriented.

Still, she’s from this country. If she were from somewhere else, I wouldn’t have been able to analyze her so thoroughly since I don’t remember other nations.

Junior?

No, stop shining so brightly, memories. I didn’t search that meticulously.

Keyword auto-search is annoying.

Anyway.

I adjusted my eating speed to match hers and stood up together afterward.

Name?

I won’t ask.

If she becomes part of the harvesting system, I’ll remember her eventually. Otherwise, we’ll just pass by each other.

That’s how lunch ended today.

By the way, Polar failed to persuade Victoria.

Victoria’s emotional barriers seem deeper than Polar expected.

***

In the Fourth World, three days had passed since the bird escaped, yet nothing changed.

We talked about immediately attacking Jeber’s house, but there’s been no action.

Possibility of being thwarted in between?

No.

Because currently, apart from Chimera Assistant at Jeber’s house, none of the Chimeras are Harvesting Systems.

Initially, there were only Brass Necklace and Bronze Necklace-wearing Chimeras.

After summoning hybrids conceived by gods and demons, Silver Necklace-wearing Chimeras appeared, inheriting their powers.

These weren’t originally intended to become Harvesting Systems.

But an accident happened.

The hybrids were powerful.

Even though they were young—or rather, because they were young—they couldn’t control their strength and seriously injured another Chimera who scolded them. Though it was just rebellion against adult reprimands, the power difference caused significant harm.

Jeber tried to heal the injured Chimera with magic but failed.

Surprisingly, the hybrid was born from a god, not a demon, and the magic didn’t work properly.

Jeber brought it to me after pondering.

I turned them into Harvesting Systems.

And I discovered something interesting.

Chimeras wearing silver necklaces, each with their own names.

They possess not only knowledge but also personalities capable of teaching children. From a regular Chimera’s perspective, they must have cost quite a lot of resources.

But…

Jeber personally trained them.

Back then, due to insufficient technology—or maybe still impossible now—they couldn’t be mass-produced like current brass or bronze necklace Chimeras.

And it wasn’t just Jeber training them.

Chimera Assistant helped too.

How fascinating.

Isn’t it?

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